The Family Down The Street

Mike’s sister Monica and her family moved into a new house last month. A new house that is only twenty minutes away from us!!! Our brother-in-law got a job here in LA, and that meant the whole brood relocated to our turf. We are thrilled to have them so close to us now.

Because they’re just a short drive away, it means we can now be there for important events like birthday parties. This past weekend our nephew Spencer turned six, and there was a large shenanigan in his backyard, complete with a bounce house, 87 tons of sugar, and a…presentation…by a company called Reptactular Animals.

Yes. Fifteen Kindergartners with every kind of reptile you can imagine.

It was so awesome how INTO it the little girls were. Even my 14 month old niece!

The little boys on the other hand (with the exception of Spencer), had NO attention span. At the end of the presentation, seven little girls and Spencer held a 30-foot snake. I was cracking up.

Annabel was kinda into it. We didn’t let her touch anything because girlfriend is NOT gentle. But she had definite opinions about the different animals.

After Spencer blew out his candles, the party ended.

And that meant that the bounce house was open to the rest of us.

Wheeeeee!

We also let the little girls into the bounce house, and they had a blast crawling around…

…and attacking Mike.

It is going to be so much fun having them here. I’m looking forward to many more pictures like this:

55 Comments

sae says:

I love the different expressions for the different animals!
Also, I want to play in a bounce house now. My kids have had a couple of bouncy-castle sessions recently, and it looks like amazing fun.
It’s fantastic having cousins so close

foni says:

only one is missing who would enjoy it the most. you have shown in other pictures how much Maddie adored her cousins and her missing is the most obvious. i hope you have the greatest time with all of your family so close

Jenn says:

I love your pictures!! My favourite…well, that was a tie. 1) Mike jumping in the bouncy tent. It was so nice to see so much joy on his face. I also love the picture of all the kids. It was so sweet!! Boy has Danny gotten big!!! I’m glad you had a great time.

Mary Ann says:

I love the picture you took of your neice, the expression on her face is so sweet. Annie looked like she had a blast, kind of like she was thinking mmmmmm that looks like it tastes good looking at all those lizards. It looks like you had a great time, it’s so nice to have family close to experience those moments.

Kristen says:

My sister just moved back to Long Island, NY after 10 years in Floida. It is so nice to have her back, even if it is still a 2 hour drive…better than 22!! It is so exciting to be able to spend holidays and weekends together!

My Livy was just like Annie… all cheeky and chunky and just PERFECT to hug and love on! Then she decided she needed to walk (damn it!) and then run (double damn it!) and like magic all of her cute chub melted off.

*Sigh* I had asked her not to grow up, and she didn’t listen…. we may have a long road ahead of us with that girl! ha!

My son and my brother’s kids all grew up living in the same neighborhood their whole lives. As a result they are all very close like brothers and sisters which is what i wanted for my son since he is an only child. I’m very happy for you and your family!

Oooh, I want to rent a bounce house just so I can jump in one. Every time we go to a birthday party at one of those indoor bounce house places, they always have a policy that grown-ups aren’t allowed in them (unless you’re, uh, retrieving your kid). Of course, I’m probably not even allowed in a bounce house while pregnant, but MAN that’d be fun.

Awesome pics – especially that last one of all the kids. That’s really cool that Annie’s cousins will be nearby as she grows up. I know I love having my cousin’s family just a few miles away.

Mindi says:

What a wonderful post…I am so happy for yiu and Mike and your extended family to be so close. I have mentioned before that 8 have 8 nieces and nephews and how much I adore them. Well we all love right on top of each others. Seriously, I live two blocks from my mommy. My “kids”, the cousins are so close, spread in gar range from 13-23, they genuinely love each other. Three of the eight are girls, the only girls in each of their families. They are like sisters and this is what tickles me most about your new family geography. I can only imagine how bald you want Annabel to have a sister and for my girls cousins are just that. I love that my kiddos are so close, so connected even when separated by thousands of miles as three are off to college (they Skype all the time). And I love this for your family. Have a wonderful holiday and Chrismas season with your darling girl and precious family down the street.

wow! Annie and your niece look like they could be twins! We moved all the way across the country just to be closer to family. I don’t regret a minute of it. Ok, maybe like fifteen minutes of it, but for the most part, it’s been fantastic!

Glenda says:

Amanda says:

I always took the relationships I have with my cousins, aunts, and uncles for granted until I met my husband. I thought it was perfectly normal that the 20+ of us all got together about once a month the entire time I was growing up. My husband barely knows his because they lived a plane ride apart and it was a miracle if they were all together once a year. Relationships with cousins, aunts, and uncles are different in every family but good ones are such a blessing.

Anna says:

That’s funny – I was at a kids’ birthday party last weekend where they did an animal presentation, and the girls were sitting there totally focused and listening while the little boys crawled around on the floor. Now, granted, they were only two years old, but it was a great illustration of why young girls, as a whole, are so much easier to teach.